If you recall I referred to hurting my fingers in my last post. It is good to be able to type fast again with the stitches in my fingers out. Did I tell you about that? I won't share photos in case you are squeamish but let my story be a lesson to you. A month ago I slashed three fingers when I was wiping off crumbs of sponge stuck to the base of a pot. A tiny shard of porcelain had transferred from a kilnshelf to the pot in the firing and was barely visible to the eye but made itself known by slicing through my fingertips like a surgeon's scalpel. I ran upstairs to our first aider the wonderful Paul H in charge of stores, who scattered his customers pronto, sat me down and told me to empty the cupful of blood I was holding in my two hands. I'd been holding it to stop it from spilling and causing a slippage - ever the mother. The adrenaline hid the pain while I struggled with the shock and I felt a bit woozy from the trauma. Paul was fantastic to me. He stemmed the bleeding with great skill and it took a while, taped it up and Marnie, another staffer, very kindly drove me to hospital - but first I insisted on finding and removing the shard in case someone else copped an injury. Three hours and seven stitches later my Henry (with his seven broken ribs and clavicle) drove me home and I collapsed on the couch totally annihilated by the effort of holding it together all day. A strong drink was required but we only had champagne (such a tragic life I lead) and that was where I came unstuck. I emerged from a zombie like state a couple of hours later with this thought ... and here is another lesson for you my readers - 'very strong painkillers and drink is not a good combination'. It is plain stupid. Don't do what I did. The scars are just visible from the injuries, a benefit of the sharpness of the offending shard and the very taut stitching the senior doc at RPH insisted upon. The experience made me realise more fully what our eldest son had once endured when his fingers met with a router and resembled burst sausages - that was massive too. Now I have to work out what my hand feels like when I throw. Which brings me to a big TADAA moment introducing CIT CERAMICS WINTER SCHOOL.
Coming up, 8-12 July, Northbridge, Perth, WA., A Clay Winter School at Central Institute of Technology! Heaps lined up from the cream of W.A. talent ... check CIT website for the full schedule and PDF on who will be offering what at our large state of the art clay studios. Sign up quick, limited numbers for small classes and the best learning experience for you. Tell everyone.
We have Sandra Black on moulds, Howard Bradfield on clay in high schools, Elaine Bradley on intro to throwing and experimenting with print techniques, Njalikwa Chongwe - raku guru, Graham Hay of International repute on paper clay, Robyn Varpins on sculpture, Andrea Vinkovic on teaching clay in primary schools, and also on 'experimental techniques', she is magic with slip, and Warwick Palmateer on advanced throwing. All are on board for what will be a busy, fun week. YOU should come!
Loads more to tell you but for now, let's go to The Mud Colony blog to see what all the other clay pals are up to. Ciao - Elaine Bradley, in Fremantle, WA.
Loads more to tell you but for now, let's go to The Mud Colony blog to see what all the other clay pals are up to. Ciao - Elaine Bradley, in Fremantle, WA.
